In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus identified the origin of murder as anger. It is the seed of sin that leads to the most destructive acts. Those who wish to live in the kingdom of the heavens should seek to remove anger from their hearts. But what about people who are even-tempered, slow to anger, and not given to fits of rage? They may read this part of Jesus’ sermon and think, No problem. This command doesn’t really apply to me. But Jesus doesn’t let us off his hook that easily.
Immediately after warning about anger, Jesus also says we should not cast insults at others. Many modern readers dismiss this command as trivial or as a weird cultural artifact relevant only to first-century Judea. That is a serious mistake.
The insulting word Jesus referenced was raca, a dismissive term of contempt derived from the sound of clearing saliva from one’s throat. It communicated that the person wasn’t worth my spit. This kind of contempt goes beyond the harm done by anger because anger requires one’s attention and energy. Anger is usually the product of disappointment or a failed expectation. When provoked to anger, we are at least admitting the person is a person whom we believed was capable of doing better and should have.
Contempt is different. It does not scream or rage because no value was placed on the person to begin with. If anger is the result of a person missing our expectations, contempt is the absence of any expectations of them at all. This is what makes contempt so dangerous; it dehumanizes the other person to the point that they are no longer worthy of my attention, energy, or even my outrage. Once we no longer see others as fully human, the door opens to every kind of evil. Anger may lead an individual to commit murder, but contempt can set an entire culture on a path to commit genocide.
In our culture, it is all too common to devalue those with different political values, ethnic backgrounds, sexuality, economic status, or religious traditions. In fact, many political and media influencers build their audiences by doing precisely this. Rather than wrestling with or contesting ideas they disagree with, they will instead express contempt for those who hold them. It may begin by saying some people are “not true Americans,” “fake Christians,” or “enemies of the people,” but before long, the rhetoric will descend into dehumanizing labels. Those we are against are “demons,” “animals,” and “vermin.” This kind of contemptuous language, Jesus said, will not come from those who belong to his kingdom.
So, then how are we to engage and respond to those espousing deeply troubling or harmful ideas? Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016, offers us an example. He was celebrated by conservatives and dreaded by progressives, but both sides recognized the sharpness of his mind, tongue, and pen. Remarkably, he was also beloved by many of his opponents and was even a very close friend of his ideological foil on the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It may have been because Scalia held his beliefs without contempt for his opponents. He said, “I attack ideas. I don’t attack people. And some very good people have some very bad ideas. And if you can’t separate the two, you gotta get another day job.” More of us, no matter our beliefs, would benefit from remembering that.
Daily Scripture
Matthew 5:21–26
Romans 12:14–21
Weekly Prayer
From Clement of Rome (c.96)
Open the eyes of our hearts to know you, who are the highest of the high, the holiest of the holy. You bring down the haughtiness of the proud, and thwart the schemes of the dishonest. You raise up the lowly and cast down the lofty. Riches and poverty, death and life, are in your hand. You alone can discern every spirit, looking into the depths of every soul. You protect those in danger, give hope to those in despair, and guide every creature on earth. By your power the nations of the earth can flourish and increase.
Grant us, Lord, we beseech you, your grace. Pity the poor, encourage those who are sad, enlighten those whose spirits are in darkness, heal the sick, guide the confused, feed the hungry, release those who are unjustly imprisoned, support the weak, comfort the faint-hearted. Let all the nations of the world know that you are God, that Jesus Christ is your child, and that we are your people.
Amen.
